“Thanks for coming out here to explain how you’re ready for me to look like an ass.” I chuckled.

She beamed. “You’re welcome. Is the grill about ready? I’m starved.”

“Almost. Come on, let’s go inside.” I grabbed my phone and put my arm around her. Her skin was freezing. Before we could get to the door, my phone rang again. “What the fuck?” I growled.

Hadley laughed and reached for the door handle. “You’re Mr. Popular tonight.”

“No shit.” When I looked at the screen, my pulse spiked. “Robert,” I announced, answering the phone. Hadley froze.

“How’s it going?” he asked.

“Better. What’s up?”

“We searched the grounds around Hadley’s house and found a cigarette lighter by the back door. That’s where the intruder entered the other day. Can you ask her if she has any friends who smoke?”

I put my phone on speaker. “Go ahead and ask her. She can hear you now.”

“Hadley?” he called.

“I’m here,” she said, moving closer.

“Do you have any friends who smoke? We found a cigarette lighter by your back door.”

She chewed her lip, then shook her head. “Not that I know of. At least none of them do at my house.”

“All right. We’re going to check it for prints and see where that leads us. It’ll take a few days but I’ll call you with the results.”

“Sounds good,” I said and then hung up the phone.

“I hate thinking about that guy going through my stuff,” Hadley said, shivering. “Do you think it’s almost over?”

I shrugged. “Could be. We’ll find out when they get the finger prints back. But that lighter could have just as likely fallen out of a friend’s pocket months ago.”

She nodded. “Hopefully this will be the break they need. I’m ready for the police to find this guy.”

So was I, but as soon as they found him, she’d be flying back to California. As much as I wanted the case to be solved, I didn’t want to let her go.

Hadley

The thought of going back home was both exciting and terrifying. I loved the solitude of being tucked away in cowboy paradise, but I wanted to get back to my life, to singing. My heart wanted both, but I knew it was out of my reach. And even more frustrating, Blake’s heart was out of reach. Ever since Robert’s call, he’d been acting distant. He kissed me before I went to bed, but that was it. I wanted more. Maybe I was too subtle? I don’t know, but I planned on making my desires known.

Once I was dressed, I marched downstairs to tell him how I felt. I didn’t exactly know what I was feeling, but it was something I couldn’t ignore. When I approached the barn, I stopped dead in my tracks. You have got to be kidding me. Standing there, smiling at him from across Snowflake, was a beautiful, curly blonde, dressed in a pair of ripped jeans, a tight tank top, and boots. What the fuck?

Keeping my expression neutral, I strolled into the barn. Both of them turned to me and the woman smiled wide. “Hi,” she greeted with a wave of her hand.

“Hey,” I replied, turning my attention to Blake who was shirtless, glistening in sweat. He cleared his throat and nodded toward the woman.

“Anna, this is Tyla. She’s the one I told you about. She works for me.”

Tyla held out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Anna. Blake told me you’re from his old stomping grounds.”

I shook her hand. “I am, but I have to say, he made the right choice moving out here. It’s amazing.”

“That it is. How long are you here for?”

My eyes met Blake’s and he responded. “Probably not much longer. She has to get back to work. I can’t keep her from it forever.”

By the look on Tyla’s face, she could sense the tension. “I see. Do you two want to meet up at the bar tonight? The whole crew is going.”

Blake lifted a brow at me and I nodded. It could be fun. Maybe if he had a few drinks, it would loosen him up. “Sure. We’ll meet you guys there,” he said.

She turned and went back to Snowflake. “Good deal. I’m going to take this wild one for a ride now. Do you want to join me?” she asked, smiling straight at me.

“Who me? On a horse?”

Tyla laughed. “Yeah, you. Have you never ridden before?”

I shook my head. The thought kind of scared me. They were so big and powerful.

Blake walked over to a stall and guided his black stallion out. “You can ride Nightshade. He’ll be good to you.” Nightshade blew out a puff of air through his nostrils and bumped me with his muzzle. Blake chuckled and patted him on the back. “He likes you.”

Tyla hopped into Snowflake’s saddle. “I’ll be in the field when you’re ready.”

I glanced up at her and smiled. “Thanks.” As soon as she left, I turned to Blake, eyes wide. “Oh my God, what if I fall off?”

Chuckling, he brushed the hair off my face. “Nightshade won’t let you.”

“Sure he won’t. Famous last words.” I shook my head.

He kissed my forehead. “You’ll be fine. I promise.”

“Hey, are we okay?” I needed to clear the air.

His brows furrowed. “Why wouldn’t we be?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. After Robert’s phone call last night, it was like everything changed. You seem a little distant.”

“I know, I’m sorry about that. There’s just a lot on my mind.”

“Anything you want to talk about?”

He shook his head. “It’s not important. Now come on, I’ll help you up.” Gripping my waist, he waited for me to put my foot in the stirrup before lifting me in the air.

Once I was secured in the saddle, and he’d placed the reins in my hands, my heart raced. It felt like I was a mile high off the ground. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?”

“You’ll be fine. Tyla’s an expert rider. I’ll be back here watching you. Just click your tongue when you want him to go, and use the reins to guide him in the direction you want to head. Pull back like this,” he showed me the motion, “when you want to stop.”

Taking a deep breath, I sat up straight and tightened my legs around the horse. I’d watched enough movies to hopefully have an idea of what I was doing. With a click of my tongue, Nightshade trotted out of the barn at a slow pace and headed straight for Tyla.

“Looking good,” she said as we approached.

Gritting my teeth, I tightened my hands on the reins. “Thanks. Just as long as I don’t fall off, I’ll be fine.”

“The only way you’ll do that is if you let go.” She glanced back at the barn before continuing. “So what’s the story with you and Blake?”

“What do you mean?”

She laughed. “I mean, there’s some serious tension between you two. I’ve known Blake for a while now and never have I seen him flustered over a girl.”

“Really? Not even Rayna?”

Her eyes went wide. “Please don’t tell me you met her?”

“I did. And I kind of told her we were dating. It was the first thing that came out of my mouth.”

She giggled. “That girl is pathetic. Just a heads up though, she’ll probably be at the bar tonight.”

I shrugged. “No worries. I can handle her.” Tyla started off toward the pasture and I kept up with her. “So you’ve never seen Blake serious about a girl?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Not since you showed up. I kept wondering when he was going to get his act together.”

“What about you? From what I gather, he seems to be a ladies’ man. How come you aren’t interested?”

A smile spread across her face. “He might be easy on the eyes, but he’s not my type. I prefer older men.”

“Ah, I see. I guess that’s my preference too,” I laughed.

“Then why the tension? I was drowning in it back there. Have you two not . . .”

I huffed. “No, never. I thought I made it clear I wanted to, but he hasn’t followed through.”

Tyla bit her lip, grinning mischievously. “What he needs is a little nudge. I’ll make sure he gets that tonight.”